Rooms with a queue
Maximise profits from your pub's letting rooms by promoting its profile effectively, advises Michael Cockman In difficult trading conditions one...
Archives for February 7, 2008
Legal advice: Workplace bullying
WHAT ARE the responsibilities of the employer with regard to employees being bullied or harassed? In the past decade there have been numerous reports...
Rivals meet for Munich tribute
Despite concerns over whether all City fans will respect the one-minute silence to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, in which...
Hidden gem
Kelly Smith ventures into the Vaults to discover how two Birmingham business partners turned a Victorian workhouse basement into a stylish...
The Agents
Trevor Watson Director, Valuation services, Davis Coffer Lyons Private equity has over recent years come to dominate the pub and restaurant...
Coulson: DCMS losing the statistics plot
MA legal editor considers the statistics put forward by the DCMS on the Gambling Act
Pub left without any beer
A Dorset pub has been left without any beer following a rent dispute with Punch Taverns.Graham Smith of the New George Inn in Dorchester owes the...
Hidden Brewery acquires fourth pub
The Hidden Brewery, a Wiltshire-based microbrewery, has acquired its fourth pub, the Chough in Salisbury. The brewery is growing rapidly, having...
BrandsBriefs
Dirty Tackle back in play Wychwood has returned its 4% abv, seasonal ale Dirty Tackle in time for the kick off of the rugby Six Nations tournament....
Conversions and pub sales on the cards
If Punch was to merge with Mitchells & Butlers, what would be the strategy? A few clues emerge from the handling of Spirit in the wake of its...
As you like it
Greene King tenant Malcolm Mant, of the Shakespeare Tavern, in Bristol, talks to Alison Baker about how he has developed his food offer Malcolm Mant...
BarTalk
What do you think of the proposed Punch-Mitchells & Butlers merger? Graham Rowson Plungington Tavern Preston Lancashire I don't think this merger...
City diary
Cannon has plenty to grouse about A little local difficulty for serial entrepreneur Michael Cannon who has been left facing a legal bill for nearly...
Avoiding warfare
Noise complaints can seriously affect a pub's value. Paul Davey, managing director of Davey & Co property agents, suggests solutions The...
Making the cash flow
MA SWOT team expert Ali Carter gives the George, in Higher Bebington on the Wirral, the benefit of her industry know-how There's not much to go on...
Hib joins health drink ranks
The Hibiscus Drinks Company has added to the trend for healthier soft drinks by launching the UK's first "superflower" drink. Hib! is made from the...
Merger means clash of styles
The merger of Punch and Mitchells & Butlers would create a marked contrast in styles at the top of the organisation. Punch boss Giles Thorley...
LETTERs
Buyouts restrict freetrade choice We at Sharp's Brewery see Marston's recent acquisition of the Hall & Woodhouse freetrade business and the...
Out on the piste with the ALMR
Lucky old Snifter has just returned from a week on the slopes of Verbier in the pleasant company of members of the Association of Licensed Multiple...
'Don't tell us that higher tax on drink is healthy'
Fancy a drink? Get to the bar quickly because the price of a round is set to rocket. Around the taxpayer-subsidised watering Palace of Westminster,...
Enterprise Inns couple win reprieve
A Newquay couple has won a reprieve for the second time to stay at their Enterprise Inns pub. Inez and Craig Ward, who have been at Mavericks since...
Pring: Coping with a Colossus
MA editor Andrew Pring considers the proposed merger between Punch and Mitchells & Butlers
Protz: Holy war on booze
Beer writer Roger Protz considers the church wading in to the booze debate
Pub social responsibility code to be probed
Auditor KPMG is hired by the Home Office to scrutinise the trade's voluntary code
Licensing@aol.com
Consent to alterations Q Under the old regime, you had to apply to the justices for a consent to any structural alterations to the premises which...
Lords slam illogical ADZs
So it is not just the licensed trade that thinks alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) are a bad idea. The House of Lords thinks so too. The criticisms...
Will patio heaters go up in smoke?
Ban on outdoor heaters could cost trade £25Om a year Pubs face the prospect of a ban on patio heaters that could cost the trade £250m a year in...
Valleys of turmoil
As was noted in last week's Publican Wales Focus, the country is "heavily over-subscribed with licensed premises". This was the view of Graham Wall,...
MyNewPub
Biddestone Arms Biddestone, Wiltshire Agent: Guy Simmonds The new operator of the Biddestone Arms, James Hedges, has 20 years' experience in the...
Interest rates cut to 5.25%
The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 5.5% to 5.25% in a bid to spark growth in the economy. The move will benefit homeowners and borrowers...
Licensee faces £10,000 bill for illegal Sky
Two licensees have been dealt severe punishments for showing Sky without a commercial licence - one hit with a pay-out of £10,000 and another having...
MyShout
We need to turn more British pubs into Great British Pubs, says Stephen Crawley Our Martian who featured in my last My Shout certainly attracted the...
Flood of empty pubs hit market
Market is being flooded with cheap empty sites ahead of the scrapping of concession rates for empty sites
Pub goes on strike after beer prices rise
A licensee has closed the doors of his century-old pub in protest at rising beer prices from Marston's.Carl Sherratt of The Poacher, in Bolton,...
City expects Punch/M&B merger to go through
Despite Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) claiming it is 'open to offers', City experts expect shareholders to okay Punch Taverns' merger proposal,...
Crucial questions and answers
What happened last week? MEPs voted in favour of a report from Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall that "urges the Commission to establish timetables for the...
City diary special: M&B
Those hedge losses in layman's terms Last week's belated closure of the Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) hedge position - at a pre-tax cost of...
Charity: Questions remain over M&B hedge
MA deputy editor The PMA Team considers a disastrous 12 months for Mitchells & Butlers
BBPA: trade needs freeze on beer duty
A trade body has called for a freeze on beer duty to help brewers and pubs deal with the "perfect storm" of declining sales, rising input costs and...
SIBA reports volume growth
Microbrewers enjoyed growth in sales of almost 11 per cent in 2007, according to the Local Beer Report 2008 published this week by the Society of...